WHesterN Hemisphere

Sorry for the disappearing act, but I have been in Italy for two weeks.  The first week was spent at a workshop on Biofuels trade in Bellagio (Lake Como - near Milan), at the invitation of the Rockefeller Foundation. And then time out in Florence and now Rome. The discussion on biofuels was most interesting. We managed to produce a document -- which we will be releasing in the next few days -- calling for some more dialogue and sanity in policies relating to biofuels development, trade and usage. It seems that we are moving at warp speed, with the US and Europe driving demand up with mandates, but at the same time with very distorting domestic policies. That is, they increase demand -- a good thing if the production came from sustainable biofuels production. Instead, they protect their markets and give every incentive for production to increase in the most unsustainable regions. These distortions are having a series of impacts and, in the process; biofuels are getting a very bad rap. Check TIME magazine piece on the subject ( http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1725975,00.html)Then, as I mentioned, it was time for a little holiday in Florence and Rome. I will tell you much about it later, but start thinking about this. Rome still has the cleanest water among all other European capitals. There are a number of public water fountains (super beautiful) and everyone drinks straight from the spouts. The water is crisp and cold. This has been so for thousands of years. Water, as it is, was huge during the Roman Empire and much revolved around the resource.... including the fact that part of the strategy against Rome, which eventually led to its demise, was cutting the water supply to the city. Think about that and think about where we are headed..... Take care and I will be in touch soon.Annette